Music
Drake's 'Scorpion' Scores Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart. Plus: Future and Meek Mill debut in the top 10. Drake's Scorpion holds at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for a second week, logging the biggest sophomore week for any album in more than two years. The set earned 335,000 equivalent album units in the week ending July 12 according to Nielsen Music (down 54 percent from its big start of 732,000 units a week earlier). Of its second week sum, 29,000 were in traditional album sales. The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units are comprised of traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new July 21-dated chart (where Scorpion stays steady at No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard's websites on Tuesday, July 17.
The Doobie Brothers Talk Playing Full Albums at Upcoming NYC Shows: Exclusive. The Doobie Brothers' Tom Johnston says the idea of full-album shows has "been brought up a couple of times, but it just seemed to go by the wayside." Not anymore. The Doobies will play a pair of their best-known albums -- 1972's platinum Toulouse Street and 1973's double-platinum The Captain and Me -- start to finish (along with "select hits") during special shows Nov. 15 and 16, respectively, at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Tickets go on sale July 23. Johnston credits the Doobies' agent, Mitch Rose at CAA, with presenting the idea, and the group is whole-heartedly on board. "It should be quite a trip," Johnston tells Billboard. "We've never done anything like this. I'm looking forward to it." He added that the Doobies have been rehearsing the material at sound checks during its just-finished tour with Steely Dan and will continue during the time off. "I've always been curious how people would react to hearing them played live in an album sequence as opposed to the way you'd normally play (the songs) live, 'cause it's a different thing altogether listening to a record as opposed to a live performance," Johnston says. "And then there's a lot of deep cuts that we don't normally play. I think that's the most interesting part for people because everybody's heard the hits. And there's some of them that we've never played, which is really making this interesting for us." Among those rarities, according to Johnston, are Toulouse Street's "White Sun" and "Mamaloi," and The Captain and Me's title track. "Some of (the songs) have received treatments, if you will, that kind of change them from the original album feel, the original sound and the way they were arranged," Johnston reports. "It's still the same (songs) but they'll have maybe an extension on it where people can jam a little bit that makes it a little more interesting than, 'Bang, here's a song' and it ends and there goes the song." Might the full-album foray lead into more shows from the Doobies? "You never know," Johnston says. "I think we'll get through this one and then we'll figure it out from there. We've never done this, so we're newbies, but I think once we pull this off we'll see how we feel. Two separate albums in two separate nights is quite an undertaking, but I think it's gonna be a lot of fun -- especially for the people who are really into the band and are probably going to be there in the first place. It should be a treat." The Doobies are gearing up to treat those fans to some new music, too, in the not too distant future. It's been eight years since the group's last studio album, World Gone Crazy, and four since the country covers set Southbound; Johnston reports that he, Patrick Simmons and John McFee have been writing songs and plan to start taking them into the studio once the Doobies are off the road. "We probably won't do an album just because people don't buy albums anymore, so it'll probably be more like four or five songs, an EP, just to see what happens," Johnston says. "To me it just adds validity to the band. I don't want to be forever known as the guys that just rubber stamp every night when they go on stage. If we can pull new music into the set it's not only interesting to the people but it's interesting for us. Both those things are positive." (Billboard)
Jack White Teams Up With Pearl Jam For 'Rockin' in the Free World' Cover. Jack White joined Pearl Jam on stage for a collaborative cover of Neil Young's classic, "Rockin' in the Free World," at NOS Alive festival in Portugal on Saturday (July 14), according to Rolling Stone. Pearl Jam foreshadowed the guest appearance by White -- who had performed his own set earlier that day -- by weaving in the iconic riff to The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army," during their song "Porch." The grunge forefathers blasted through the rest of their set and reunited on stage for their encore performance of Young's signature song when White surprised fans by stepping onto the stage. The guitarist added his frenetic guitar solo interludes in between verses adding to the band's energy and putting an explosive cap on the band's set. The two rock icons are no strangers. Their last performance together was during a secret pre-Bonnaroo show in 2016 in Nashville, where White joined the band during their then-unreleased track, "Of the Earth." White went on to release a recording of the show as one of his Third Man Vault Packages. (Billboard)
Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith & John Travolta Join Foo Fighters at New York Gig. It was a night of very special guests for the Foo Fighters on Saturday (July 14), during their gig in Wantagh, New York at the Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater. During the band's stop on their Concrete and Gold Tour, fans were treated with two separate guest performances by John Travolta and Red Hot Chili Peppers'drummer, Chad Smith, according to Consequence of Sound. Travolta, who performed a cover of the Grease hit, "You're the One That I Want," with the Foos back in April, joined them once again, this time in a leather jacket and jeans and with some dance moves from the film during a medley that included Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust," the Grease track, John Lennon's "Imagine," Van Halen's "Jump" and the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop." The band hit Twitter after the show writing, "WE'VE GOT CHILLS NY!!" The Foos had more in store though as Peppers drummer Smith hopped behind the kit for a rendition of Faces' "Stay With Me," with vocals from Foo Fighters' drummer, Taylor Hawkins. The two joined forces to perform the cover back in 2015as well. (Billboard)
Blake Shelton is finding the humor in an onstage tumble. After falling during a concert in Pendleton, Oregon, PEOPLE's 2017 Sexiest Man Alive turned to Twitter to poke fun at his actions and ask for the evidence. "Ok Pendleton I know somebody is bound to have video of me falling on stage last night!!" he posted. "Please!! I have to see it!!! Post that s -- t! And yes I had been drinking. A lot." Fans supplied footage from multiple angles of boyfriend stumbling before righting himself and picking up his guitar. Shelton blamed Pitbull, his fellow performer at the Pendleton Whisky Music Fest, for getting him a little too lubricated. "By the way @pitbull... I blame you, "Shelton wrote on Twitter. "It was my attempt at competing with your show... I am a dancing son of a bitch when I don't take a 10 second giant s -- t fall... " When some unfortunate soul tweeted that Shelton's drunkenness could be considered unprofessional, Shelton fired back by saying, "Oh I'm sorry ma'am... This account is meant for people who actually have a sense of humor.. We're not accepting cry baby tweets today.. Maybe try again tomorrow!" Shelton, a judge on The Voice, has a favorite drink. At Ole Red Nashville, his new restaurant, he told PEOPLE, "I have one drink, and it's Sprite Zero and vodka." (People)
Kendall Jenner Cheers on Harry Styles at His Last Solo Tour Concert. Kendall Jenner helped give Harry Styles a star-studded send-off at his concert at the Forum in Inglewood, California on Saturday, the last stop of his first solo tour. The 22-year-old Keeping Up With the Kardashians star watched the show with family hairstylist and friend Jen Atkin and a male friend and was spotted dancing and giving the singer a standing ovation. She also sang all the lyrics to many of his songs, including "Just a Little Bit of your Heart," which he had co-written for Ariana Grande. Harry and Kendall have known each other for years and sparked romance rumors more than two years ago, when they vacationed together in the Caribbean over the New Year's 2016 holiday and hung out periodically over the next few months. They also reunited in 2017 at a Kings Of Leon concert. Other celebs spotted at Harry's show at the Forum included fellow single Shawn Mendes, who also spent much time dancing, Kate Beckinsale, Meghan Trainor and her fiance Daryl Sabara, Phoebe Tonkin and 5 Seconds of Summer's Michael Clifford. Harry, who began his tour in September, gave a heartfelt speech onstage at his final show. "If my memory serves me any good, on January 14th of 2014 was the first time I walked into this building," he said. "I walked through that tunnel over there, I walked in and the Eagles were sound-checking. I walked in and I've never heard anything so sweet in my entire musical life and since I walked into this room I've always wanted to play it." "I'm gonna go away for a little while and make some more music and then I'll see you very soon," he said. "It's been an honor to play in front of you every night ... and thank you for trusting me by coming to a concert at all. Thank you." Harry also read aloud a fan's sign bearing the words, "I'm gay and I love you," sparking cheers. "I mean, we're all a little bit gay, aren't we?" the singer told the crowd, sparking more cheers. (Eonline)
Will Smith, Nicky Jam and Era Istrefi Perform at World Cup Closing Ceremony. While the World Cup is coming to an end, soccer fans around the world got to watch the highly-anticipated closing ceremony before the final soccer match between France and Croatia. Will Smith, Nicky Jam and Kosovar singer and songwriter Era Istrefi performed the 2018 World Cup closing ceremony in Moscow's Luzhniki stadium Sunday. The three stars performed their song "Live It Up," which is a track for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, and it already has almost 100 million views on YouTube. In true Nicky Jam fashion, the 37-year-old star surprised fans by rocking a t-shirt with J Balvin's face. We bet no one saw that coming! "This achievement is for both of us," Jam wrote on a post that showcased the moment revealed the t-shirt to honor Balvin. Balvin also took to Instagram to post about the moment, "I loveeeeee you @nickyjampr we did it. X at the World Cup, taking me with you on a t-shirt is a symbol of your generosity and your greatness." Jam also performed "X" which is the mega-hit that he shares with Balvin. For all FIFA World Cup matches, watch Telemundo, visit Telemundo.com or download the Telemundo Deportes app available on iTunes. (Eonline)
Pussy Riot Claims Responsibility for People Running Onto Field During World Cup Final. Russian protest group and punk band Pussy Riot has claimed responsibility for four people who ran onto the field and disrupted the World Cup final. The punk band says in a statement posted on their Twitter feed Sunday (July 15) that the disruption was a protest. The four people who charged onto the field in the 52nd minute simultaneously in what appeared to be old-fashioned police uniforms were tackled to the ground by stewards, but not before one shared a high five with a French player in the center circle. Pussy Riot issued a list of demands to the Russian government on Twitter including to free political prisoners, end "illegal arrests at protests" and to "allow political competition in the country." Pussy Riot rose to global prominence with their daring outdoor performances critical of Russia President Vladimir Putin. (Billboard)
The Doobie Brothers Talk Playing Full Albums at Upcoming NYC Shows: Exclusive. The Doobie Brothers' Tom Johnston says the idea of full-album shows has "been brought up a couple of times, but it just seemed to go by the wayside." Not anymore. The Doobies will play a pair of their best-known albums -- 1972's platinum Toulouse Street and 1973's double-platinum The Captain and Me -- start to finish (along with "select hits") during special shows Nov. 15 and 16, respectively, at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Tickets go on sale July 23. Johnston credits the Doobies' agent, Mitch Rose at CAA, with presenting the idea, and the group is whole-heartedly on board. "It should be quite a trip," Johnston tells Billboard. "We've never done anything like this. I'm looking forward to it." He added that the Doobies have been rehearsing the material at sound checks during its just-finished tour with Steely Dan and will continue during the time off. "I've always been curious how people would react to hearing them played live in an album sequence as opposed to the way you'd normally play (the songs) live, 'cause it's a different thing altogether listening to a record as opposed to a live performance," Johnston says. "And then there's a lot of deep cuts that we don't normally play. I think that's the most interesting part for people because everybody's heard the hits. And there's some of them that we've never played, which is really making this interesting for us." Among those rarities, according to Johnston, are Toulouse Street's "White Sun" and "Mamaloi," and The Captain and Me's title track. "Some of (the songs) have received treatments, if you will, that kind of change them from the original album feel, the original sound and the way they were arranged," Johnston reports. "It's still the same (songs) but they'll have maybe an extension on it where people can jam a little bit that makes it a little more interesting than, 'Bang, here's a song' and it ends and there goes the song." Might the full-album foray lead into more shows from the Doobies? "You never know," Johnston says. "I think we'll get through this one and then we'll figure it out from there. We've never done this, so we're newbies, but I think once we pull this off we'll see how we feel. Two separate albums in two separate nights is quite an undertaking, but I think it's gonna be a lot of fun -- especially for the people who are really into the band and are probably going to be there in the first place. It should be a treat." The Doobies are gearing up to treat those fans to some new music, too, in the not too distant future. It's been eight years since the group's last studio album, World Gone Crazy, and four since the country covers set Southbound; Johnston reports that he, Patrick Simmons and John McFee have been writing songs and plan to start taking them into the studio once the Doobies are off the road. "We probably won't do an album just because people don't buy albums anymore, so it'll probably be more like four or five songs, an EP, just to see what happens," Johnston says. "To me it just adds validity to the band. I don't want to be forever known as the guys that just rubber stamp every night when they go on stage. If we can pull new music into the set it's not only interesting to the people but it's interesting for us. Both those things are positive." (Billboard)
Jack White Teams Up With Pearl Jam For 'Rockin' in the Free World' Cover. Jack White joined Pearl Jam on stage for a collaborative cover of Neil Young's classic, "Rockin' in the Free World," at NOS Alive festival in Portugal on Saturday (July 14), according to Rolling Stone. Pearl Jam foreshadowed the guest appearance by White -- who had performed his own set earlier that day -- by weaving in the iconic riff to The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army," during their song "Porch." The grunge forefathers blasted through the rest of their set and reunited on stage for their encore performance of Young's signature song when White surprised fans by stepping onto the stage. The guitarist added his frenetic guitar solo interludes in between verses adding to the band's energy and putting an explosive cap on the band's set. The two rock icons are no strangers. Their last performance together was during a secret pre-Bonnaroo show in 2016 in Nashville, where White joined the band during their then-unreleased track, "Of the Earth." White went on to release a recording of the show as one of his Third Man Vault Packages. (Billboard)
Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith & John Travolta Join Foo Fighters at New York Gig. It was a night of very special guests for the Foo Fighters on Saturday (July 14), during their gig in Wantagh, New York at the Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater. During the band's stop on their Concrete and Gold Tour, fans were treated with two separate guest performances by John Travolta and Red Hot Chili Peppers'drummer, Chad Smith, according to Consequence of Sound. Travolta, who performed a cover of the Grease hit, "You're the One That I Want," with the Foos back in April, joined them once again, this time in a leather jacket and jeans and with some dance moves from the film during a medley that included Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust," the Grease track, John Lennon's "Imagine," Van Halen's "Jump" and the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop." The band hit Twitter after the show writing, "WE'VE GOT CHILLS NY!!" The Foos had more in store though as Peppers drummer Smith hopped behind the kit for a rendition of Faces' "Stay With Me," with vocals from Foo Fighters' drummer, Taylor Hawkins. The two joined forces to perform the cover back in 2015as well. (Billboard)
Blake Shelton is finding the humor in an onstage tumble. After falling during a concert in Pendleton, Oregon, PEOPLE's 2017 Sexiest Man Alive turned to Twitter to poke fun at his actions and ask for the evidence. "Ok Pendleton I know somebody is bound to have video of me falling on stage last night!!" he posted. "Please!! I have to see it!!! Post that s -- t! And yes I had been drinking. A lot." Fans supplied footage from multiple angles of boyfriend stumbling before righting himself and picking up his guitar. Shelton blamed Pitbull, his fellow performer at the Pendleton Whisky Music Fest, for getting him a little too lubricated. "By the way @pitbull... I blame you, "Shelton wrote on Twitter. "It was my attempt at competing with your show... I am a dancing son of a bitch when I don't take a 10 second giant s -- t fall... " When some unfortunate soul tweeted that Shelton's drunkenness could be considered unprofessional, Shelton fired back by saying, "Oh I'm sorry ma'am... This account is meant for people who actually have a sense of humor.. We're not accepting cry baby tweets today.. Maybe try again tomorrow!" Shelton, a judge on The Voice, has a favorite drink. At Ole Red Nashville, his new restaurant, he told PEOPLE, "I have one drink, and it's Sprite Zero and vodka." (People)
Kendall Jenner Cheers on Harry Styles at His Last Solo Tour Concert. Kendall Jenner helped give Harry Styles a star-studded send-off at his concert at the Forum in Inglewood, California on Saturday, the last stop of his first solo tour. The 22-year-old Keeping Up With the Kardashians star watched the show with family hairstylist and friend Jen Atkin and a male friend and was spotted dancing and giving the singer a standing ovation. She also sang all the lyrics to many of his songs, including "Just a Little Bit of your Heart," which he had co-written for Ariana Grande. Harry and Kendall have known each other for years and sparked romance rumors more than two years ago, when they vacationed together in the Caribbean over the New Year's 2016 holiday and hung out periodically over the next few months. They also reunited in 2017 at a Kings Of Leon concert. Other celebs spotted at Harry's show at the Forum included fellow single Shawn Mendes, who also spent much time dancing, Kate Beckinsale, Meghan Trainor and her fiance Daryl Sabara, Phoebe Tonkin and 5 Seconds of Summer's Michael Clifford. Harry, who began his tour in September, gave a heartfelt speech onstage at his final show. "If my memory serves me any good, on January 14th of 2014 was the first time I walked into this building," he said. "I walked through that tunnel over there, I walked in and the Eagles were sound-checking. I walked in and I've never heard anything so sweet in my entire musical life and since I walked into this room I've always wanted to play it." "I'm gonna go away for a little while and make some more music and then I'll see you very soon," he said. "It's been an honor to play in front of you every night ... and thank you for trusting me by coming to a concert at all. Thank you." Harry also read aloud a fan's sign bearing the words, "I'm gay and I love you," sparking cheers. "I mean, we're all a little bit gay, aren't we?" the singer told the crowd, sparking more cheers. (Eonline)
Will Smith, Nicky Jam and Era Istrefi Perform at World Cup Closing Ceremony. While the World Cup is coming to an end, soccer fans around the world got to watch the highly-anticipated closing ceremony before the final soccer match between France and Croatia. Will Smith, Nicky Jam and Kosovar singer and songwriter Era Istrefi performed the 2018 World Cup closing ceremony in Moscow's Luzhniki stadium Sunday. The three stars performed their song "Live It Up," which is a track for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, and it already has almost 100 million views on YouTube. In true Nicky Jam fashion, the 37-year-old star surprised fans by rocking a t-shirt with J Balvin's face. We bet no one saw that coming! "This achievement is for both of us," Jam wrote on a post that showcased the moment revealed the t-shirt to honor Balvin. Balvin also took to Instagram to post about the moment, "I loveeeeee you @nickyjampr we did it. X at the World Cup, taking me with you on a t-shirt is a symbol of your generosity and your greatness." Jam also performed "X" which is the mega-hit that he shares with Balvin. For all FIFA World Cup matches, watch Telemundo, visit Telemundo.com or download the Telemundo Deportes app available on iTunes. (Eonline)
Pussy Riot Claims Responsibility for People Running Onto Field During World Cup Final. Russian protest group and punk band Pussy Riot has claimed responsibility for four people who ran onto the field and disrupted the World Cup final. The punk band says in a statement posted on their Twitter feed Sunday (July 15) that the disruption was a protest. The four people who charged onto the field in the 52nd minute simultaneously in what appeared to be old-fashioned police uniforms were tackled to the ground by stewards, but not before one shared a high five with a French player in the center circle. Pussy Riot issued a list of demands to the Russian government on Twitter including to free political prisoners, end "illegal arrests at protests" and to "allow political competition in the country." Pussy Riot rose to global prominence with their daring outdoor performances critical of Russia President Vladimir Putin. (Billboard)
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